New Orleans Pelicans’ Dejounte Murray Brutally Clowns ‘Casual’ for Criticizing His 2024 Move to the Pels in Now-Deleted Tweet

According to Adnan Ikic (@SayWhichWay), the Atlanta Hawks decided to move on from Dejounte Murray because he was one of the “most horrendous” perimeter defenders in the league the last two years, which, according to the 2022 NBA Steals Leader, is far from the truth.

“Another Casual That Don’t Watch Hoops Or Really Know What’s Going On With His FAVORITE TEAM!! Ask Your Head Coach Why I Begged Him For Me To Guard The Best Players I Was Told They Wanna Save My Energy For Scoring!!! Hahahaha ‍

️ You Will See A MONSTER On Defense 24-25 SZN”, Murray posted.

In 2023-24, the Atlanta Hawks’ defensive rating was 3.4 points per 100 possessions worse with Dejounte Murray on the floor, per Cleaning The Glass . However, it can be noted that the 27-year-old guard also had a high usage rate of 27.7 percent since he had to shoulder a bigger load on offense, especially in games where Trae Young is sidelined.

In 78 regular season games last season, Dejounte Murray averaged a career-high 22.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.4 assists per game while shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 36.3 percent from three-point land.

Dejounte Murray will be better with the New Orleans Pelicans

Dejounte Murray will have fewer responsibilities on both ends of the floor with the New Orleans Pelicans, making him more efficient overall.

On offense, Dejounte Murray will have Zion Williamson, CJ McCollum, (and maybe) Brandon Ingram alongside him, while they have a 2023-24 NBA All-Defensive First Teamer in Herbert Jones on the other side of the floor.

The New Orleans Pelicans had the sixth-best defensive rating in the league last season, compared to the Atlanta Hawks’ 27th.